Fence



(No Model.)

A. NEWKIRK.

FENUE.

No. 339,919. Patented Apr. 13, 1886 I \I 0 c; m w \w t5 I? H h; b g: LS'1' H I I i I! I" J l WITNESSES mum/v70: I

m) A fforneys UNITED STATES PATENT O FIcE.

ABRAM NE\VKIRK, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 339,919, dated April13, 1886.

Application filed July 22, 1885. Serial No. 172,301.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAM NEWKIRK, of Cleveland, in the county ofGuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fences; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in fences in which the rails of therespective adj acent panels are secured on opposite sides of the posts,each set of rails forming a panel being secured to the post by a wirethat is first fastened to one end of the post and then brought aroundthe outside of the rail and back behind a nail, and so on until eachrail is secured, after which the wire is strained between each rail bymeans of a hook and lever and a nail driven to hold the wire taut, tothe end that by straining the wires the latter are embedded in therails, so that the latter are held from drawing endwise out of theloops, and by means of the two sets of nails the wires are held inposition to prevent the rails from moving upward.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in perspective of aportion of a fence embodying my invention. Figs. 2 and 4 are enlargedviews in perspective of a portion of a post and panel, showing themanner of attaching and straining the wires. Fig. 3 is a view inperspective of a suitable hook for engaging the Wire in straining thelatter.

A represents theposts, and a b c d, &c., the different rails or boardsof the panels; B, the wires, and c and c" the nails that secure thewires to theposts. The wire B is first secured at one end of the post,it matters not which end, but we will suppose at the bottom-that is, ata suitable distance from the groundto support the'bott-om rail or board.A nail, b, is partly driven, and the wire is bent around the nail andthe short end tucked under between thelong portion of the wire and thepost, after which the nail is driven home. (See top of post in Fig. 2.)The wire is then passed up outside of the rail or board a and carriedbehind a second nail, a that is at a suitable distance up along the postfor supporting the rail or board I). The wire is next carried outside ofthe rail 1), and so on until all' of the rails or boards of the panelare secured, when (X0 model.)

the end of the wire is brought back over the top nailand secured in thesame manner as at the bottom nail. At this stage of construction therelation of parts is shown in Fig. 4. The rails, if secured in thismanner, always can be raised more or. less,according to the length oftheloops of wire, the length of the latter being more or less, accordingto the distance of the rails apart.

To prevent the rails from being raised, and to prevent the possibilityof the rails being moved endwise and the fence drawing apart, I havedevised the following: By means of a suitable claw-for instance, theclaw K and a lever, K, the wire between each rail is strainedor drawninward with considerable force, so that the wire will cut into the edgesof the board or rail. While the wire is thus held taut a nail, 0*, isdriven in front of the wire and between the prongs of the claw K. (SeeFig. 2.) By reason of the wire being strained in this manner and made tocut into the edges of the boards, the boards or rails are securely heldfrom moving endwise, and by reason of the nails 0 and 0, respectivelyabove, below, and between the boards or rails, said boards or railscannot be raised in the loop, as would be the case if the wire were leftas shown in Fig. 4. Vhen the wire is applied as shown in Fig. 4, it isdrawn as tight as can conveniently be done by hand. The straining of thewire and securing it by the nail. 0" does not, therefore, require anyextra wire.

It is evident that the action of the wind or the rubbing of cattle willnot affect this fence so long as the posts are not broken, and theupheaval of any of the posts by the frost will not injure the boards orrails, but will only cause the wires to be embedded deep in the rails,and if boards are used there will be no tendency to split or injure thesame, as would be the case if the boards were nailed to the posts. Itmatters not how irregular the shape of the posts or rails may be, thelatter are held equally firm as if the posts and rails were of sawedtimbers.

The fence is easily and cheaply made, and if it is desired to remove apanel it is easily done by drawing the top nails, when the wires may besuccessively detached from the other nails. Panels can be taken out andput up with little trouble. Of course,when a frequent 7 passage-way isrequired, gates or bars are preferable; but every farmer knows that itis a great convenience to have a fence any panel of which, in case ofemergency, may be removed and returned to its place with little trouble;If a rail is broken, by drawing the nail 0 next above such rail thelatter may be drawn out endwise and a new one inserted in its place,after which the loop should be again strained and another nail a driven.v

To prevent the posts from turning, I attach a loop, 9, to the end of onerail of each panel and secure it to the post in the position shown inFig. 1. This loop will counteract the strain of the fastening-wires onthe opposite sides of the post, and prevent the post from turning whileconstructing or after the completion of the fence.

I am aware that it is not new to attach the rails of a fence to: theposts by passing a wire 20 I in front of the rails and behind anailsdriven into the sides ofthe post between the rails.

In this device, if the wires should be applied while under strain, thepost would turn. By

applying the loops 9 the tendency of the post 25 to turn is overcome.

What I claim is- V The combination, with the rails, posts, and wires B,arranged substantially as indicated, of the loop 9, substantially as setforth.

In testimony whereof I- sign this specification, in the presence of twowitnesses, this 16th day of July, 1885.

ABRAM NEWKIRK. f

WVitnesses:

CHAS. H. DORER, ALBERT E. LYNCH.

